Amusement device.



R. H. ALEXANDER. AMUSEMENT DEVICE. APPLIGATION FILED MAY 19, 1909. 941,902, Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

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P m o WITNESSES (AWE/V701? 6 4 1? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT H. ALEXANDER, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT H. ALEX- ANDER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Amusement Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description.

This invention relates to a new and improved amusement device of the rotary type, which is adapted to give simultaneously a reversing circular travel, a counter-whirling rotary motion, and a billowy rocking motion.

The object of this invention is to provide an amusement device which will be simple in construction, which may be cheaply manufactured, and which is adapted to give a variety of circular billowy motions, calculated to please the occupants.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts, to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in which Figure 1 is a view in elevation; Fig. 2 is a detail section on the line 22 in Fig. 1, showing the driving mechanism; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section, on the line as. in Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 55 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of the cam for shifting the clutch lever.

Referring more particularly to the separate parts of the device, 6 indicates a foundation of any suitable form and material, such as masonry or the like, upon which is carried in any suitable manner a support 7, which consists preferably of vertical angleirons 8, and cross beams 9, which may be of any suitable form, preferably angle-irons, and converging members 10, which are joined together at the top in any suitable manner, and may be of any suitable form and material, preferably metal T-rails. The support 7 may be either open or in the form of an inclosure. Rotatably supported in any suitable hearings in the support 7, there is provided a vertical shaft 11, which has secured thereto at the bottom, a bevel-gear Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 19,

Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

1909. Serial No. 496,907.

12, adapted to mesh with a bevel-gear 13 on manner to be described hereinafter. Near the upper end of the shaft 11, there is secured a framework comprising horizontal brace members 15 and inclined tension members 16, which is for the purpose of supporting a plurality of circular undulating track members 17. Each of the track members 17 consists of a pair of undulating circular tracks, made of any suitable material, preferably iron, and which are adapted to face each other to form a circular undulating path for a plurality of grooved rollers 18, which are adapted to rotate in said path. Pivotally supported on these rollers 18, there are provided a plurality of hangers 19, which are pivotally secured to a suitable carriage 20, which is preferably in the form of a cylindrical basket having a circular seat with an opening in the center. Secured to the central bottom portion of the track member 17, there is provided a shaft 21, on which is rotatably supported by means of a collar 22, a gear 23, which also slidingly engages the hangers 19, whereby it is adapted to rotate said hangers, and thus rotate the carriage 20, and at the same time permit the hangers to reciprocate up and down. Directly below the cross beams 9, there is provided a flooring A, secured in any suitable manner to the support 7 and having a central circular opening therein, within which the rotary support and carriages are adapted to rotate. Within this circular opening and surrounding the vertical shaft 11, there is provided a flooring on approximately the same level as the flooring 24, and secured in any manner by uprights 26, which may be of any form, but preferably of iron-T-rails. In order to give a rotary motion to the gears 28, and thus to the carriages 20, there are provided segments of racks 27, 28, 29 and 30, supported on the flooring 24 and 25, which are adapted to intermittently engage the gears 23 on opposite sides. It will thus be seen that the gears 23, and together with them, the carriages 20, have intermittent rotary motions in opposite directions.

Returning to the main driving mechanism, the shaft 141 has rotatably secured thereon a pair of gears 29 and 30 The gear 29 is driven from a shaft 31 directly, by means of a gear 82. The gear 30 is driven in the opposite direction by the shaft 31 through a horizontal shaft 1 1, which is driven in a.

the gears and 34. The shaft 31 is driven by any suitable means, such as an electric motor 35.

In order to bring either of the gears 29 or 3O into driving relation with the shaft 14, there is provided a clutch 36, which is splined onto the shaft 14, and has a friction clutch face on each end, whereby it is ada 3 ed to engage friction clutches 37 and 38,=-"s'ecured on the facing surfaces of the gears 29 and 30. The clutch 36 is adapted to be reciprocated into and out of operative connection with the gears 29 and 30 by means of a lever 39, which is pivoted in any well-known manner to a support 40. The lever 39 is adapted to be operated by a cam 41, secured to an arm 42 carried by the shaft 11. The cam 41 is so formed that when the shaft 11 rotates in either direction, it will engage the lever 39, so as to throw the clutch 36 into engagement with the opposite clutch face, thereby causing the shafts 14 and 11 to rotate in the opposite direction. This cam 41 is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 6. The lever 39 is first engaged by the inner concave side of one of the curved arms on the cam, which shifts it over until it comes partway along the convex portion of the other arm. By this time, the clutch will have been shifted, and the shaft 11 started in the opposite direction. When the shaft 11 has made a complete revolution, the concave side of the other cam arm will now engage the lever 39, shifting it back in the opposite direction, and thus again changing the direction of the rotation of the shaft 11. There is thus provided an amusement device having a rotary support which is adapted to intermittently rotate in opposite directions, and which is also adapted to support a plurality of carriages, which in turn are adapted to rotate intermittently in opposite directions and also are adapted to have a gymtory rocking motion.

In the operation of the device, the motor is started in any manner, such as by throwing a switch, and the support with the carriages starts to rotate in one direction. As the support rotates, each of the gears 23 connected to the carriages 20 engages the racks 27 28, 29 and 30, first on one side and then on the other side, thereby causing said gears to rotate intermittently in opposite directions. The rotation of the gears 23 carries the hangers 19 around in a rotary manner relative to the supporting track members 17, thereby causing the hangers to be reciprocated up and down in a successive circular manner and thereby transmitting a gyratory tilting or rocking motion to the carriage 20, while said carriage is being rotated both in a circular path and in the path about its own axis.

When the shaft 14 has completed a revolution, the cam 41 011 the arm 42 engages the lower end of the lever 39 and shifts the clutch 36 into engagement with the other gear, thereby reversing the rotation of the shaft 14, and thus reversing the rotation of the shaft 11, and hence reversing the rotation of the support and the carriages thereon.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a suspended passenger carriage, mechanical means adapted to move said carriage in an orbit, and mechanism adapted to transmit a rotary rocking motion to said carriage.

2. In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a carriage, mechanical means adapted to cause a motion of said carriage in an orbit, and mechanism adapted to automatically reverse said motion.

3. In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a carriage, mechanical means adapted to cause a motion of said carriage in an orbit, mechanism adapted to automatically reverse said motion, and means adapted to rotate said carriage about its own axis.

4. In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a suspended passenger carriage, mechanical means adapted to rotate said carriage about its own axis in one direction, mechanical means adapted to automatically rotate said carriage in the opposite direction, and means adapted to rock said carriage.

In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a suspended passenger carriage, mechanism adapted to rotate said carriage in an orbit, and mechanical means adapted to gyrate said carriage.

6. In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a carriage, means adapted to rotate said carriage in an orbit, means adapted to automatically reverse the rotation of said carriage, mechanical means adapted to rotate said carriage about its own axis, and mechanical means adapted to reverse the rotation of said carriage about its own axis.

7. In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a carriage, means adapted to rotate said carriage in an orbit, mechanical means adapted to automatically reverse the rotation of said carriage in an orbit, mechanical means adapted to rotate said carriage about its own axis, mechanical means adapted to reverse the rotation of said carriage about its own axis, and mechanical means adapted to give a tilting motion to said carriage.

8. In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a plurality of suspended passenger carriages on said support, means adapted to move said carriages in an orbit, means adapted to rotate each of said carriages about its own axis, and means adapted to give a tilting motion to said carrlages.

9. In an amusement device, the combina tion with a support, of a plurality of suspended passenger carriages on said support, mechanical means adapted to move each of said carriages in an orbit, and mechanism adapted to give a rotary rocking motion to each of said carriages.

10. In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a plurality of carriages, mechanical means adapted to cause a motion of each of said carriages in an orbit, and mechanism adapted to automatically reverse said motion.

11. In an amusement device, the combination with a rotary support, of a plurality of carriages on said support, a gear for r0- tating said support in one direction, and automatic means adapted to adjust said gear to rotate said support in the opposite direction.

12. In an amusement device, the combination with a rotary support, of a plurality of carriages on said support, driving means for said support, and means carried by said rotary support adapted to automatically reverse said driving means.

13. In an amusement device, the combination with a rotary support, of a plurality of carriages on said support, a horizontal shaft, driving connections between said rotary support and said horizontal shaft, oppositelydriven gears rotatably mounted on said shaft, a clutch adapted to bring either of said gears into driving relation with said shaft, and means carried by said rotary support adapted to manipulate said clutch.

14:. In an amusement device, the combination with a rotary support, of a plurality of circular tracks on said support, a plurality of carriages for said tracks, means for rotating said support, and means for giving a rotation to said carriages independent of the rotation of said support.

15. In an amusement device, the combination with a rotary support, of a plurality of undulating circular tracks on said support, a plurality of carriages for said tracks, means for rotating said support, and means for giving a rotation to said carriages independent of the rotation of said support.

16. In an amusement device, the combination with a fixed support, of a rotary support, a plurality of circular tracks on said rotary support, a plurality of carriages rotatably supported on said tracks, means for rotating said rotary support, and means for rotating said carriages independently of the rotation of said support.

17. In an amusement device, the combination with a fixed support, of a rotary support, a plurality of circular tracks on said support, a plurality of carriages rotatably supported on said tracks, means for rotating said rotary support, means for rotating said carriages, and means for automatically reversing the rotation of said support.

18. In an amusement device, the combination with a support, of a plurality of circular tracks on said support, a plurality of carriages rotatably supported on said tracks, means for rotating said support, and means for intermittently rotating said carriages in opposite directions.

19. In an amusement device, the combination with a fixed support, of a rotary sup-- port, mechanism adapted to intermittently rotate said rotary support in opposite directions, a plurality of independent undulating circular tracks on said rotary support, a plurality of carriages rockingly supported on said tracks, gears connected to said carriages, and sector-racks on opposite sides of said gears adapted to intermittently engage said gears to rotate said carriages in opposite directions.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT H. ALEXANDER. IVitnesses:

WILLIAM LATCHFORD, GEORGE ALBERT WETDT. 

